This invention relates generally to the field of monitoring utility systems. More specifically, this invention relates to transmitting data from individual utility sites to a utility center.
The gathering of utility information in the past has been a manual procedure in which meter readers typically visit the sites where meters are located so as to gather the usage information. This is a time consuming task that results in large expense to the utility companies which is passed on to the utility customers. Attempts have been made in the past to semi-automate this procedure; however, often these attempts have failed to produce adequate results.
Furthermore, at a household, for instance, more than one utility usage meter often exists. The electric company has a meter for electricity usage. The gas company has a meter for gas usage. The water company has a meter for water usage. Other utilities could have similar meters as well. Each company uses its own meter readers to visit the site in order to gather information about that respective company""s utility service. Therefore, the effort in gathering information is repeated by each company.
Other attempts at gathering utility information have often involved the use of expensive or high-powered transmission equipment. The cost of this equipment essentially prohibits its use throughout a residential or large utility usage area. Therefore a large utility usage area, such as a residential area, is still left without an efficient means for gathering the utility data. Furthermore, some equipment requires a level of power sufficient to transmit utility usage information a significant distance such that the utility information can be gathered by centralized equipment. Again, this leads to a great expense for the equipment.
The use of transmitters in utility gathering has often involved the use of high-powered transmitters to transmit data. The use of a high-powered transmitter requires that it be approved by the FCC, as the FCC regulates the transmissions that are above a threshold level of power. Thus, the use of such equipment requires governmental approval which can be quite complicated, expensive, and burdensome.
Hence, there is a need for a system that will permit an easy means for gathering utility information.
The present embodiments of the invention provide a system for overcoming some of the obstacles presented by existing utility networks. In one form, the present invention comprises a method for collecting utility data made up of more than one utility usage sites by providing a utility monitor located at a first usage site; receiving data from a second utility monitor located at a second utility usage site; combining the data from the second utility monitor with the data from the first utility monitor so as to form a combined set of data; and transmitting the combined set of data to a data collection device.
In another embodiment of the invention a method and apparatus is provided for collecting utility data by providing a plurality of utility monitors, wherein each of the utility monitors is located at a utility usage site; serially transmitting data between each of the plurality of utility monitors so as to create a combined set of data for the utility monitors; and transmitting the combined set of data to a utility data collection device.
In yet another embodiment of the invention a system is provided which comprises providing a plurality of utility monitors; transmitting at a low power level data for each utility monitor to a proximate utility monitor; creating a combined set of data for all of the utility monitors; and transmitting the combined set of data at a high-power level to the utility data collection device. The various embodiments of the invention have features which are interchangeable. For example, in the embodiment where information is transmitted at low power, the information also can be transmitted in a serial fashion between the plurality of utility monitors in a daisy chain fashion.
The utility data collection device can utilize a high-power transmitter, such as a cellular transmitter, to communicate directly with the utility center which processes data for all of the utility system. Similarly, the utility collection device can also communicate with utility monitors having a high-power transceiver.
One embodiment of the invention allows for the processing of error information. The individual utility monitors can gather error information and transmit it through the chain of neighboring utility monitors or directly to the utility data collection device or utility center. Similarly, the communication network can allow for the order of a serial chain of utility monitors to be altered from data gathering session to data gather session. In this way, individual utility monitors can be removed from the data gathering process. Additionally, a more efficient order of utility monitors can be implemented so as to accomplish more error free transmission of data.